


Stormy Weather

by meyari



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-02
Updated: 2009-12-02
Packaged: 2017-10-04 02:35:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meyari/pseuds/meyari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tornados can cause huge amounts of destruction, but they also allow new things to grow that were never there before.  When Lex encountered a young man whose truck had been blown into the ditch while trying to escape from an impending tornado, he had no idea that something completely new would grow between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stormy Weather

**Author's Note:**

> AU (Clark and Lex don't meet until Clark's eighteen and in college). No explicit spoilers but some references to canon minor character deaths.

**1\. Strangers**

Lex studied the rear view mirror between bouts of fiddling with his radio and flying down the roads leading back to Metropolis. The clouds had turned the strange yellow-green color that presaged a tornado nearly fifteen minutes ago. The light had faded until he was driving through a twilight that felt almost as oppressive as having dinner with his father. His cell phone had access to the latest radar results but that would entail stopping and pulling the program up, hoping that he had coverage in this God-forsaken stretch of nowhere, and praying that the system wasn't overloaded with other people accessing it. The feeling of immanent doom was too powerful. Lex didn't stop to find where his phone had disappeared to.

"…tornado watch…strong winds warning…" came over the radio in a nearly continuous alert that Lex mostly ignored. The continual warnings worked on his over-stretched nerves.

"Tell me something that isn't immediately obvious," Lex snarled at the latest repeat, pressing the accelerator down just a hair farther.

He couldn't tell if the tornado would be in front of him or behind him. All he knew was that if he stopped in the middle of the cornfields he would be completely exposed. He had to find shelter somewhere. There wasn't a farmhouse or storm cellar in sight, not that he could see very far in the gloom. The winds were getting stronger, with increasingly powerful gusts threatening to blow his car off of the road. Lex fought and won each battle, keeping his car heading for Metropolis and the relative safety of home. He roared over one hill and down into a valley, cursing as he spotted an old red truck on the side of the road, obviously blown into the ditch. A tall man was getting ready to try and push it back onto the road. Lex screeched to a stop next to the battered truck.

"Get in!" Lex snapped, reaching across to fling open the passenger side door.

"What?"

The man was more of a boy, despite his size. He looked to be about eighteen, with dark hair tousled by the wind and an old plaid flannel in shades of blue. He looked up at the stormy skies, bit his lip and then reached into his truck to pull out two duffle bags. Lex felt like his body was a violin and his nerves were the strings as he waited. He wished that the phantom violinist playing him would change from music signaling immanent doom to something more pleasant. The boy threw his bags behind the seat and climbed into the car, slamming the door. Before he'd secured his seatbelt Lex floored it, speeding away from the storm. Hopefully. Hopefully he wasn't speeding straight into the storm.

"Do you know any storm shelters in the area?" Lex asked, still watching the skies in front and behind them.

"Um, yeah," the boy said. "I'm not sure that we'll make it but we can try. I'm Clark, by the way. Thanks for stopping."

"Lex and you're welcome," Lex said, smiling.

He didn't look away from the road to see Clark's responding expression. He couldn't. The weather was getting worse, with higher winds and debris flying by. The debris changed as he drove from random leaves and bits of paper to chunks of wood and branches torn off of trees. A branch flew in front of them, scratching across the hood of the car. It left a huge gouge in the finish. Lex cursed, more concerned about their imminent demise than the finish on his car. If he survived the storm he'd buy a new car. He'd buy a dozen new cars. He'd buy a car _factory_. Clark stared out the windows, scanning for the storm that Lex could feel bearing down on them. He didn't know where it was but he knew it was out there, hunting for them. They'd only gone a couple of miles when Clark gasped, pressing his hand against the side window.

"There!" Clark said, pointing.

Lex glanced in the direction Clark indicated and stomped on the accelerator. He started cursing at the road, the weather, and the idiot customer who'd insisted on an official visit before they'd accept the first shipment of the new product. If only he'd stayed at home, he wouldn't be in this situation but then if he had Clark would have been directly in the path of the storm. If he managed to save Clark's life and his own maybe it was worth it.

The tornado was huge. The funnel had been just emerging from the sky when he'd glanced that way. It had looked to Lex like the finger of the God he didn't believe with coming down to rake the earth with destruction. Clark was muttering something under his breath; probably prayers given that he looked like a good old-fashioned farm boy. He clutched the dashboard and his seat, eyes wide with fear.

"Where's that storm shelter?" Lex snapped.

"There's a road up ahead, gravel, turn left there," Clark said, scanning the road ahead of them. "There!"

He pointed at an ancient-looking tree, bent over the fence along the side of the road. Its branches were thrashing in the wind as if it was trying to flee from the storm. Lex took him at his word and stomped on the brake, sending them into a sidespin that let them go careening down the gravel road with most of their momentum intact. The road was horrible, full of potholes and heavily rutted. Lex could see a building ahead of them, an old farmhouse painted yellow. The yellow had been stained with a sickly greenish tinge by the gloom of the storm. The storm cellar was closer to them than the farmhouse, blessedly close. Clark yelled something as he pointed at the storm cellar. Lex couldn't hear him over the roar of the twister approaching them. Lex screeched to a stop close to the cellar, flinging open the car door. Clark grabbed his bags and ran for the cellar, Lex practically running on top of him.

Clark flung his bags into the storm cellar's depths, spinning to shut the doors. Lex had just enough time as he entered to see old shelves covered with canned goods, farm implements and something large covered by a tarp in one corner before he whirled to help Clark with the doors of the cellar. Together they wrestled the doors shut, battling the wind every inch of the way. Whoever lived in the farmhouse was gone, maybe in whatever town was close by or in the basement of the farmhouse. Lex spared half a second to worry about them, imagining an old couple with gray hair and hands gnarled by a lifetime of farm work driving through the storm as Lex had been. Then he focused on the storm raging on the other side of the far too fragile doors that Clark finally managed to shut with Lex's assistance. The roof of the storm cellar was already shaking with the force of the storm. Lex didn't think that it would hold. How could it?

It sounded like the tornado was right over them. It sounded like a train rolling over Lex's head, or an earthquake in the sky. It sounded like death. It sounded like destruction. The wind found every crack in the doors and roof, tugging at them, trying to wrench them free. Lex backed off, the fear he'd felt so often as a child clawing at his heart. Clark stayed by the doors, leaning against them, holding them firm. It was so loud that there was no point in telling him that it was futile. If the storm wanted them this badly it would get them. Clark wouldn't be able to hear his voice over the roar of the finger of God passing across the earth. Lex couldn't hear the curses that were still falling from his lips. He took another step backwards, away from the storm, away from the fear, and tripped over one of Clark's duffle bags. Lex toppled backwards, catching himself on the large tarp-covered object.

The feel of it under his hand made Lex turn and stare, even with death roaring for his blood overhead. It felt odd, different. Whatever it was, it wasn't an old piece of farm equipment stored away or a box of family mementos to share with the grandchildren in a few years. It was metallic. It felt sleeker than Lex's cars, and was oddly diamond shaped. Clark turned as Lex pulled at the tarp. There was fear in Clark's eyes. It looked like he was more afraid of Lex's actions than of the storm. He let go of the doors and they flew open. The wind tore them away, reminding Lex vividly of the scene in _Wizard of Oz_ where Dorothy was in the farmhouse being carried away to Oz with bits of her life orbiting the house. Once the tarp fell at Lex's feet, he felt like he was Dorothy, carried away to another world where there was color, life and magic.

"No," Clark mouthed, unheard over the roar of the tornado overhead.

His eyes were blazingly green as a flash of lightning illuminated the storm cellar through the open door. Lex looked at him, looked at the tiny spaceship that had been hidden under the tarp and then back at the tornado that was moving over their heads. Clark had been holding the doors shut. It was right over them. There was no way the doors would have held against that wind. Even now Clark should have been sucked out into the storm. The wind was pulling at Lex strongly enough that he had to cling to one of the support beams on the back wall of the storm cellar. The beam was shuddering under the force of the tornado's winds, as was the roof over their heads. Clark should have been gone as soon as the doors were ripped away. Instead, there he stood as solidly as if he was a mountain, not a man.

He hadn't saved Clark from the tornado when he'd stopped by his truck. Clark had saved him.

Another flash of lighting filled the storm cellar with a blast of light that was like a flash going off. Or maybe it was an explosion. Lex wasn't sure. The roar of the wind intensified but even over that roar he could hear the sound of wood splintering. He looked up at the roof of the storm cellar and shouted something that no one could hear. The roof protecting them tore away in huge chunks and pieces, letting the tornado reach down to grab him. It felt like the world was moving in slow motion. Lex's mother's face flashed before his eyes, wan and pale as she lay dying in her hospital bed. His father's snide smirk came next, followed by his acquaintances and coworkers, his many casual lovers and even more casual wives. Even his childhood nurse put in an appearance behind his eyes.

'Oh God,' Lex thought as his feet lifted off the ground. He gripped the beam harder but the wind was too strong, steadily tearing him away from his only anchor. 'My life's flashing before my eyes. I'm about to die.'

He'd come close to death so many times. The only time his life had flashed before his eyes was in Smallville as he watched the meteors fall towards him. Every other time there had been nothing, just the certainty that this was it, the time that he would have to pay back the extra time he'd been granted. He'd been living on borrowed time since he was nine years old and finally that loan had come due. The death that he'd escaped as a child had come from the sky. It seemed appropriate that this time his death came from the sky, too.

Something large and warm struck him in the chest, knocking him back to the ground. It took Lex a second to realize that it was Clark. Clark had tackled him, carrying him back to the earth that cradled his tiny spaceship. Lex panted as the tornado tried to suck all of his air away. He heard a huge cracking sound beside his head. Lex turned and saw Clark's hand buried deep into the earth of the storm cellar's floor. He'd just punched his hand into the soil, anchoring them against the storm. Lex looked into Clark's eyes, seeing only fear of condemnation, fear of attack, fear of _Lex_. He looked like an embattled angel, especially as another strike of lighting gave him a short-lived halo. With everything that Clark seemed capable of doing, and everything that was happening around them, he was only afraid of Lex's reaction to his miracles.

Lex clutched Clark's chest and buried his face in the nook of his neck. An angel with a spaceship had given him an extension on his borrowed lease on life. He was all that was keeping Lex from being sucked up into the tornado. He feared Lex. Lex clung to Clark, unable to look at that fear while death hunted him. Clark's arm tightened around Lex's back, more than enough to keep him safe from the storm. He could feel the strength in Clark's body, the power that he contained. It felt like clutching a radiator, like grabbing the sun in mortal form. Lex put his lips next to Clark's ear.

"It's all right," Lex said, not bothering to shout. It didn't matter if his words carried to Clark's hearing or not. Lex knew. That sufficed. "I won't hurt you."

Clark went stiff, which surprised Lex. Despite the roar of the storm, Clark had heard him. It felt like forever before Clark relaxed again, holding Lex closer than before. Lex felt strangely safe despite the terror of their situation. He had no idea how long Clark's grip on the earth would hold. He was surprised that it had worked at all. Given the power of the wind they should have been sucked out into the tornado immediately, but Lex suspected that the adrenaline rushing through his veins had dramatically speeded up his perceptions of time. It certainly felt like the tarp was flying away in slow motion.

Lightning struck the spaceship next to them. It danced over the spaceship's hull, ran along the rim of its sleek wings and settled into a divot on its nose. Even with the storm roaring overhead and his ears ringing from the lightning strike, Lex could hear the eerie hum of the spaceship starting up. It rose into the air, glowing brightly. Clark turned to watch it, still anchored the ground and clinging to Lex.

**2\. Lightning**

Clark wasn't sure how things could go more wrong than they'd already gone. He'd put the truck into the ditch after an especially strong gust of wind. He'd gotten into a strange man's car despite the fact that he didn't need help. He'd _brought the strange man home_, of all the idiotic things to do, and then ushered him straight into the middle of his biggest secret. He was completely exposed, and they were stuck together in the middle of the storm of the century. At least Mom was off in Washington so he didn't have to worry about a lecture or her being hurt. All he had to do was hang on to the earth and keep Lex safe.

This sucked so badly. He was going to regret doing this, saving Lex, but he couldn't see anything else to do. He certainly couldn't have let Lex die in the storm. He'd never have been able to live with himself if he had. Lex turned his head, putting his lips right on Clark's ear. Clark automatically tuned into him, hoping he didn't shout.

"It's all right," Lex said conversationally into Clark's ear, as if he knew about Clark's hearing. "I won't hurt you."

Clark had thought that his heart was pounding as hard as it could but Lex's words made it clear that he'd been deluding himself on that point. He stiffened against the urge to push Lex away, to put him at arm's length so that he could reassess, figure out how much Lex knew. He needed to know how much Lex had figured out, how much he'd already known. Lex curled closer to Clark's body, twining their legs together in a pose almost intimate. He did nothing else as the milliseconds turned into full seconds with the wind howling around them.

He meant it, Clark realized with something close to awestruck wonder. Lex really meant that he wouldn't hurt Clark. Clark swallowed hard and cuddled Lex closer, waiting for the edge of the storm to move on, past them. It had been a long time since he'd had anyone trust him this way. Lana had never been able to accept his oddness and had fled to Paris, never to return. Alicia had gone nuts and eventually been murdered by another mutant. Chloe was still his major confidant, despite the different paths their lives were taking. Pete had never trusted him again after his spaceship had been revealed. Hopefully Lex would be able to deal with this better than Lana, Pete and Alicia.

He didn't have long to worry about it as lightning struck right next to them, arcing through the spaceship. Clark gasped, turning to stare. The lightning moved in slow motion as his reactions went to super speed. He could see the electricity tracing the Kryptonian symbols hidden on the ship's hull, following along circuit lines that were invisible to the human eye. The electricity activated the circuits one by one, eventually hitting the octagonal slot at the nose of the ship.

'Please don't start up,' Clark pleaded mentally, biting his lip, 'please don't start up!'

His pleading was in vain as the ship powered up, the engines humming in its startup and liftoff sequence. Lights flashed over the hull. It started glowing brightly and then it lifted off, the nose turning to point out into the storm. Clark had no idea what automatic sequence had been triggered by the lightning strike but it couldn't be good. Several varieties of expletives both earthly and Kryptonian ran through his head as his spaceship darted out into the tornado.

Clark let it go. He didn't have a choice. If he tried to stop it he'd lose his grip on Lex and then Lex would die. Lex's life was worth more than an attempt to stop his spaceship from flying away. He probably wouldn't have been able to stop it anyway. He turned to watch it go, taking a deep breath as he realized that the tornado's outer edge was finally passing over them. The eye had long since (or at least what felt like long since to him) passed by. Now the outer edge of the debris cloud was passing by and the wind was decreasing.

Several seconds ticked by like they were years and then the wind subsided enough that they fell to the ground together, Clark lying on top of Lex. Debris started falling out of the sky, so Clark stayed over Lex to protect him. Lex panted for a second and then squirmed uncomfortably.

"There's stuff falling," Clark said, twisting carefully to look overhead. "Just a second."

"What?"

Lex started when the bumper of an old tracker crashed into the ground next to them, leaving a dent in the earthen floor of the storm cellar. Clark scanned the sky overhead, using his heat vision to blast a couple of larger chunks of debris that would have hurt Lex if they'd hit, even with Clark protecting him. Lex made a noise that was somewhere between inquisitive and amazed, still clutching Clark's shirt. Clark studied the rapidly clearly skies and then rolled off of Lex, helping him up. His expensive suit was covered in dust and bits of sawdust that Lex made no move to brush off. He scanned the skies too, his eyes an intense shade of blue that reminded Clark of the skies over the farm just after dawn, before the final blush of the sunrise had faded.

"Um," Clark said, hesitating for a second once Lex's eyes locked onto him, "I kind of have to go and try and catch it."

"Your spaceship," Lex said, the calm acceptance of it making Clark's stomach do flips.

"Yeah," Clark admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not something that I want anyone else to see. If there hadn't been a tornado on our heels I would have taken you to the cellar under the house instead."

"Understandable," Lex said, nodding as if that was the most reasonable thing anyone had ever said. "That's fine. I should see whether my car survived, though I doubt it. I'm sure that the damage above ground was considerable, to say the least."

"Oh!" Clark gasped and ran up the broken stairs to check on the house.

He sighed with relief. The path of destruction skirted the edge of the barn and the yard. Several windows looked like they'd cracked or blown out, but other than that the house looked like it was intact. He'd have to fix some of the roofing, but it wasn't bad at all. Lex more cautiously climbed the stairs, looking at the house with Clark. His shoulders relaxed once he saw that it was there, as if he'd been anticipating its destruction as well.

Lex's car was nowhere to be seen, though Clark could see where it had been blown away. There were long tire marks gouged in the dirt and then a big hole through one of the fences. It looked like it had been blown east towards downtown Smallville. Lex sighed, his lips twisted in a rueful smile that had far more joy that Clark would have expected.

"Oh well, I suppose it was too much to expect that my car would have survived," Lex said, chuckling a little grimly as he started brushing off the dirt and sawdust. "Pity. I just bought it a month ago."

"I'm sorry," Clark said, feeling bad for him.

"Why?" Lex asked, looking at Clark quizzically. "Did you summon the tornado?"

From the curious expression on his face, Clark thought Lex might believe that he could do that. It made his stomach clench that anyone would have that sort of faith in him, that sort of trust. Half of the emotion was his familiar fear of discovery but the other half was pure butterflies at the thought of living up to Lex's, or anyone's, expectations. He didn't think he'd ever be that good.

"What? No!" Clark squawked. "I can't do that!"

"Then you have nothing to be sorry for," Lex said, shrugging. "I may have to borrow your phone, if it's still working. I believe I either lost my cell phone during the ah, event, or I left it in my car when we bolted for the storm cellar."

Clark cocked his head at Lex, a little off balance from Lex's complete acceptance of everything that had happened. It was strange not to have accusations and threats, questions and intimidation. Chloe had given him a serious interrogation when she found out about his abilities. Lex had just seen far more than she had and he wasn't asking anything. It was strange but nice.

"Your spaceship?" Lex asked, pointing up as Clark continued to stare at him.

"Oh, right!" Clark said, nodding. "You can go ahead inside. I'm not sure the phone will work but you're free to try. Mom's off in Washington right now so the house has been empty for a few days. I was just coming to do—"

Clark stopped and looked back into what was left of the storm cellar for his duffle bags of laundry. He groaned that they were gone just like his spaceship, swallowed up by the storm. Lex frowned, looking at the hole and then back at Clark with a puzzled expression on his face. Clark sighed, tossing up his hands.

"My laundry," Clark groaned just a little dramatically. "I was coming home to do my laundry at home and watch over the farm until the new tenants showed up. Darn, I can't afford to buy all new clothes. I wonder if I have enough money to get some new jeans?"

Lex tried to swallow a laugh, turning away and raising one dusty hand to pretend-cough into it. He glanced back at Clark and the laugh broke loose. Clark grinned despite the blush that stained his cheeks. Lex had a really nice laugh when he let it loose. Lex laughed for a bit, shaking his head in apparent dismay.

"I think I can spot you the money for new jeans and some flannel shirts," Lex said with a grin that was worlds removed from the smirks he'd sported before. "You did just save my life."

"No, that's okay," Clark said, shaking his head. "I don't want a reward. That's not…right. Listen, I really do have to go before it gets too far away. Like I said, you're free to head inside and use the phone if it works. There might be some food in the fridge. I'll be back soon, I hope."

"How are you going to find it?" Lex asked, putting a hand on Clark's arm. "I do have some resources if you need them. I can ensure that they're discrete."

"No need," Clark said, smiling at him as he slowly lifted off the ground. "I can fly. Don't like to do it very much but I can."

Lex's eyes lit up with wonder as he watched Clark take off and head up into the sky. Clark scanned the storm clouds and the ground, looking for his wayward spaceship. His ears were still tuned to Lex's voice however, so he heard Lex speak a few seconds after he was out of apparent hearing range.

"That is so cool," Lex murmured. "How does he do all that?"

Clark shivered at the wonder and curiosity in Lex's voice, but set aside the mingled delight in Lex's acceptance and fear at his curiosity. He had a spaceship to locate and capture and then a guest to get back where he belonged.

**3\. Yellow**

Lex watched Clark fly off into the stormy skies, curiosity battling with awe. He'd always loved super hero comics so meeting a real-life super hero was something beyond a treat. He watched until Clark had disappeared into the clouds overhead and then looked around the farm. It was obviously an older farm. It looked to Lex as though it had once been a very good working farm but now there didn't seem to be any crops growing and he couldn't spot any animals. The absence of animals could be because of the storm but Lex suspected that it wasn't.

There wasn't any feed in the barn when he poked his head inside. No hay was stacked in the loft, and no barrels or bags of grain sat in the stalls. There didn't seem to be any animals kept there anymore. The stairs up to the loft tempted him but Lex resisted the urge to explore while Clark was gone. He'd been invited into the house, not into the barn, so that was where Lex went. It felt strange to walk into the bright yellow farmhouse. He felt like an intruder, despite the invitation. He was careful to brush himself off as best he could before heading inside. There was no need to cause a mess if he could help it.

The interior of the farmhouse had the same sort of faded charm that the farm had outside. It looked like a well loved home. There was something about the place that immediately tugged at Lex's heartstrings. There were family pictures on the walls and an old, faded quilt over the back of the sofa that looked to be handmade. The wood floor was worn, with paths in the finish where people had walked to and fro for years. The kitchen was exceedingly old-fashioned, not that Lex was any sort of expert on kitchens. Lex studied it with bemusement, deciding that it was the better part of valor not to try and fix something. Given his propensity for starting cooking fires, it would be a shame to set fire to Clark's house after it had just survived a brush with a tornado.

Lex frowned as he looked at the stove. The gas burners on it sent him hunting for the gas cutoff for the house, which turned out to be outside the kitchen door and along the side of the house. He didn't want to risk anything happening to the house before Clark had a chance to check everything out. Lex wasn't sure how to determine if there'd been damage to the gas lines. He headed back inside and tried the light switch. He nodded thoughtfully when the lights didn't go on. Power was out to the area. Lex wasn't surprised at all about that.

It was starting to darken into true dusk outside, so Lex rummaged through the cabinets and came up with candles and old-fashioned wooden matches that he had thought you only saw in movies. He hadn't seen that sort of match since he was a child. Lex pushed those memories away, not willing to darken his mood with memories of his father or Excelsior. The farmhouse was even more charming once lit by a pair of candles. He took one candle to study the pictures on the wall.

"That must be Clark as a child," Lex murmured, peering at the little boy with black hair being hugged by the redheaded woman.

Lex thought that Clark's father was either blond or ginger haired. It was hard to tell by candlelight. There wasn't much of a resemblance between him and his parents, making Lex speculate about adoptions and then laugh at himself. Either the parents were aliens too, which seemed rather unlikely, or of course Clark was adopted. Given the size of the spaceship that Lex had seen he must have been a very small child when he arrived on earth. Lex found the earliest pictures of Clark that he could find on the wall, staring at the confused looking two or three-year old boy. His parents looked stunned in the picture, like they weren't sure how they'd gotten into this situation.

"Definitely adopted," Lex chuckled, smiling wryly at Clark's father's almost wild expression. "I wonder if he had his powers back then. That would explain the look."

Lex found other pictures of Clark with a beautiful dark-haired girl, both of them in their prom finery. He found another prom picture of Clark with a vivacious little blond who grinned at the camera with fierce joy. In both pictures Clark looked happy but uncomfortable. Lex wasn't sure if it was the tux making him uncomfortable or if it was the girls adorning his arm causing him to have that expression. He looked stunning in the tuxes, almost like a different creature from the flannel-clad boy who had saved Lex.

A pair of newspaper articles carefully framed and given a place of honor on the wall made Lex pause and read them several times over. One detailed Jonathan Kent's decision to run for his friend's seat in Congress. Lex remembered the campaign. He'd considered running too but his father's opposition to the concept had been so fierce that he'd abandoned the idea. The second detailed Martha Kent's decision to take her husband's place after he died in a sudden heart attack.

"That's just a few months ago," Lex whispered, checking the date on the second article. "He only lost his father a little while ago."

Lex sighed, feeling somewhat odd about snooping around Clark's house now that he knew he was mourning his father's death. He stopped looking at the pictures and headed for the phone. There was no dial tone when he picked up, which meant that there was no hope of calling anyone to come pick him up. It was a digital phone. Lex frowned, considering it. A farm like this would have an old fashioned analog phone somewhere in case of emergencies. He couldn't imagine that Clark or his mother Martha wouldn't have one tucked away in a cabinet or drawer.

Lex started checking the logical places, cabinets in the kitchen, and the entertainment center in the living room. He didn't find a phone. He expanded his search to the home office downstairs, the laundry and then out onto the back porch where he saw that the sun was setting. It was already past the best part of the sunset when the sky was stained every shade of red and gold. All that was left was the rapid fall of gloomy night, which was made gloomier by the rapidly thickening clouds over head. Lex went back inside and headed upstairs. He was delighted to find the bathroom, as he certainly needed a shower, but there wasn't a phone there. The master bedroom held so many echoes of Jonathan Kent's ghost that Lex couldn't bring himself to search it. The second bedroom was easier. It was obviously Clark's bedroom.

"I wouldn't have had a clue that an alien lived here," Lex said, holding up his candle so that he could peer around the room.

It looked like your stereotypical teenage boy's room. Lex checked the closet and smiled to find some old clothes there. At least he could change if he showered and Clark wasn't completely out of clothes. It did appear that most of his clothing was gone, as there were far too many empty hangers in the closet. Lex looked around the room, reassured by the fact that it was so very human. All the old SF stories he'd read portrayed the aliens as superior beings who either looked down on humanity or as ravening monsters. Clark didn't appear to be anything like the stories. Judging by his room he was only a boy on the verge of becoming a man, albeit one with extraordinary gifts.

"Let's see if any of this would fit me," Lex murmured, setting down the candle on Clark's dresser to compare some of the pants and shirts against his body.

It was immediately apparent that Clark was much more muscular than he was. They weren't that different in height so the pants would fit as long as Lex used his belt to hold them up, but the shirts would all but fall off of Lex. Clark's farm work must have graced him with some impressive muscles. Lex refused to speculate what Clark looked like under his baggy flannel shirt. His body remembered all too well the strength of that well muscled body pressing down on him after the tornado had passed over them.

"I think a shower is a good idea," Lex said, adjusting his pants against their sudden tightness. "Hopefully there won't be any hot water. I think I'm in need of a very cold shower."

He took a pair of jeans and one of the smallest shirts tucked in the back of the closet. His candle was getting low, so Lex headed downstairs and got another one, making sure that the taller one he'd left burning downstairs wasn't going to fall over and start a fire. He didn't like the thought of Clark coming home to a completely dark house. At least with the candle burning he'd know that Lex was inside. Given the way he'd heard Lex in the middle of the storm, he was sure that Clark would hear the water running upstairs.

**4\. Water**

Clark sighed with relief as he headed into the house. Finding his spaceship had been a struggle. Chasing it down with the key had been harder. Getting the darn thing to acknowledge that it should return to the farm and power down had been the hardest thing of all. It was hidden in the barn for now, in one of the unused stalls. Tomorrow he'd crate it up and take it to the storage unit Mom had rented when she decided to rent the house out and move to Washington. He wasn't sure what else to do with it, even after pondering it for a while. He certainly couldn't take it with him to Metropolis. His dorm room was too small as it was, especially with his roommate taking over more than his fair share of it.

Clark sighed at the broken windows. He should fix them but he needed to make sure that Lex was okay first. The lights didn't come on when he flicked the switch by the kitchen door but Lex had left a candle burning so it wasn't as dark as it could have been. Clark smiled, glancing at the kitchen. He started and hurried back outside to check on the gas cutoff, grinning that Lex had already been there.

"Huh, I wouldn't have thought that he'd think of that," Clark murmured on finding that the gas was firmly shut off.

He scanned the house with his X-ray vision, checking all the gas lines. They were intact all the way out into the main gas line on the street so Clark nodded and turned the gas back on. He'd seen the damage caused by the tornado from the air. Most of the damage had been centered on the Kent farm and Nell's old place next door. Her house and barn had both survived, but a fair chunk of the horse pastures had been torn up by the tornado. If the gas lines weren't broken here they weren't broken anywhere.

"Lex?" Clark called once he went back inside.

Silence answered him, which made Clark frown. He scanned the house again, spotting Lex in the shower upstairs. Clark gulped, his face suddenly flaming. It had been one thing to be so close to Lex while their lives were in danger. It was a totally different thing to picture him naked and wet in the shower. Clark hesitated, biting his lip. He didn't want to intrude but he really should let Lex know that he'd made it home. After a long moment of indecision that allowed his pants to loosen, Clark headed upstairs, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Lex?" Clark called over the sound of the water.

"Clark!" Lex called back. "Sorry, I just wanted to get cleaned up. My clothes are a mess so I borrowed some of your old things from the closet. I hope that's fine."

Clark poked his head inside, sighing with relief that Lex was still safely behind the shower curtain. He stepped inside, grinning that Lex had chosen his old Crows T-shirt. It was way too small for Clark anymore but it would probably work just fine for Lex. He leaned against the sink, leaving the door open so that he could leave quickly when Lex was done.

"It's fine," Clark said. "I can't wear most of that stuff anymore. It's too small."

"You must be better built than most weight lifters," Lex commented.

"It comes naturally," Clark said, making a face that Lex couldn't see. "I don't do anything for it. Most of the time I try and hide it. I don't like people noticing."

"Why not?" Lex asked, shutting off the water. "I would have thought that you'd enjoy the attention."

"Um, not really," Clark said, fidgeting nervously that Lex was about to get out. "Um, I can go if you want. You know, let you have some privacy."

"If you could hand me a towel, that would be better," Lex laughed. "I'd rather not drip on your floor and there wasn't any hot water since I shut off the gas."

"Oh! Right," Clark said, grabbing a towel and throwing it over the shower rod.

Lex spluttered, making Clark think he must have hit him in the face with the towel. Lex chuckled, drying himself off. The candle was getting lower and the scene was almost too intimate for Clark to deal with. He kept imagining Lex naked and wet, despite his attempts to banish the image from his mind. He had no idea what sort of person Lex was. He might be completely straight, though after the way he'd clung to Clark and twined their legs together during the storm Clark didn't think so. At the very least, Lex was obviously rich and powerful. Clark wasn't. There was absolutely no way that Clark had any chance with him. He should be content to have Lex as a friend instead of an enemy.

"Pass me my clothes?" Lex asked, opening the shower curtain enough so that he could look out at Clark.

"Sure," Clark said, blushing hard enough that he was sure his face was glowing.

He took the towel that Lex offered and fed him his clothes. Clark squeaked at the purple silk boxers that Lex took first. All his efforts to keep from reacting to Lex's presence were undone by the thought of Lex wearing those silk boxers underneath his jeans.

"Little long but they'll work," Lex commented as he pulled the jeans on.

He slid the shower curtain open and calmly bent over to roll up the hems of the jeans. There were still a few stray droplets of water on Lex's back. They caught the flickering light of the candle like jewels strewn across Lex's skin. In the candlelight, he looked incredibly silky and pale, a direct contrast to Clark's darker tan. Lex stepped out of the tub and grabbed his belt, threading it through the belt loops on Clark's old jeans. The jeans were hugging his hipbones, threatening to slide off in the best possible way. Clark made himself look away, grateful for wearing his flannel shirt untucked. He seriously did not want Lex to see that he was getting a woody.

"Well, it fits like a tent," Lex drawled, making Clark look back at him, "but at least it's a clean shirt."

Clark burst out laughing, grinning at Lex. The old T-shirt did fit like a tent. It came down halfway to Lex's knees and the sleeves that were too tight on Clark were nearly to Lex's elbows. The neckline was practically off of Lex's shoulders since Clark had taken the ribbing off years ago. Lex looked torn between amusement and dismay as he tugged at the neck, sleeves and shoulder of the shirt, trying to make it fit better.

"It's a little big for you," Clark said, trying not to snicker.

"That's only because I'm not built like a brick wall," Lex said, attempting to look superior and completely failing due to the old shirt and jeans. "So did you find it?"

"Yeah," Clark said, gratefully letting Lex change the subject. "Took a bit of work but I caught it and shut it down again. It's out in the barn until I can crate it up. It'll be safe here for a few days, and then I'll put it into storage with my Mom's stuff."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Lex asked, folding up his discarded clothing. "People can get into storage lockers very easily. I read the framed article about your mother becoming a congresswoman. I wouldn't put it past reporters to go snooping around into her storage."

"Oh," Clark said, his heart sinking. "Wow, I didn't think of that. Hmm, I might need to find a better solution."

Lex nodded, finishing his folding. His clothes ended up almost professionally folded, with neat, precise corners and the wrinkles smoothed out. Clark didn't think he could fold clothes that neatly, not even with Mom watching him. Lex looked at Clark, picking up the candle.

"Do you think that there's any possibility of food?" Lex asked. He smirked, the expression seemingly aimed more at himself than at Clark. "I didn't want to add a kitchen fire to the destruction of your storm cellar. My only talents with cooking are eating what's been produced and making a mess that usually includes at least one fire. I thought discretion was the better part of valor in this case."

Clark burst out laughing again. He nodded, loving the way that Lex's face lit up in a delighted grin. They headed back downstairs together, Lex carrying the candle and his dirty clothing. Clark knew every inch of the farmhouse by memory, so he didn't need the candle. Lex fished out a couple more candles, lighting them while Clark rummaged through the fridge and cabinets for something that they could eat. There wasn't much left since Mom had mostly moved out and the new tenants hadn't moved in yet, but there was an unopened bottle of spaghetti sauce and some dry noodles in one cabinet, as well as a loaf of bread and some butter in the fridge that looked like it was still okay.

"How about some spaghetti and toast?" Clark offered. "I could fly somewhere else for takeout but this is here."

"Spaghetti and toast is quite acceptable," Lex said grandly, leaning against the counter as if he always visited for surprise dinners after tornados. "Not sure how you're going to cook it but that sounds good."

"Cooking it is the easy part," Clark said, grinning his cheesiest grin. "I can make food super fast. And the gas is back on in case you want to take a hot shower in a while. I'm sure that the cold shower was no fun at all."

**5\. Food**

Lex allowed himself a wince as Clark turned to the stove, beginning his cooking. The cold shower hadn't been half as effective as it should have been. He'd been doing an acceptable job of beating down his inappropriate attraction to Clark until the object of his latest obsession had come into the bathroom. Lex was incredibly grateful for the opaque shower curtain that had hid his body's reaction to his proximity despite the icy water cascading down his body. It was a very good thing that Clark's jeans were so large on Lex. Between their loose fit and the tent-like shirt, Lex's erection wasn't noticeable. He hoped. Of course it would be much easier to will his attraction away if he could manage to stop watching Clark's shoulders and ass, trying to see through the fabric obscuring his body.

Clark put a pot of water on the stove and suddenly it was boiling as he glared at it. Lex straightened up, watching Clark. He was making the water boil somehow. Lex shivered, pressing his hands flat against the counter. As fascinated as he was by Clark's powers, Lex couldn't help but be a bit worried that he was this open about using them. Lex considered that perhaps Clark wasn't this open with other people and shook his head no. Clark had only just met him. There was no reason for him to trust Lex so quickly. If he behaved this way to Lex he probably behaved much the same way with others.

"There we go, boiling nicely," Clark said.

He measured out two very large portions of the dry spaghetti, dropping them into the boiling water. He used a second pot to hold the spaghetti sauce, setting it on a different burner. He glared again and within a couple of seconds it was bubbling as he stirred it. Occasional glances at the pot of noodles kept them boiling quite nicely.

"How do you do that?" Lex asked, unable to restrain his curiosity any longer.

"Um, heat vision," Clark said, blushing as he looked at Lex shyly. "I'm kind of surprised you're not freaking out about all of this."

"Do people normally freak out when you show them what you can do?" Lex asked, leaning against the counter again to study Clark.

Clark's face went still, becoming practically a mask. Only his eyes showed any life. Lex was surprised at the level of pain he could see in Clark's eyes. He looked incredibly lonely and sad as he shrugged almost casually. He way his hands had tensed made it quite clear that the shrug was anything but truly casual.

"Actually, I've never shown off like this before," Clark admitted, his voice too quiet. "My parents knew of course, but they were always after me to keep it quiet, to not show anyone what I could do. They were really afraid I'd be taken away, experimented on. A few people have found out along the way. One went crazy and got murdered. Another helped me for a while until it got too much for him to deal with. He left town. And the third is my best friend. She helps me keep the secret as much as she can, even though we're going in different directions now that we're at college."

"Ah," Lex breathed, feeling incredibly honored and rather stunned. "Somehow I assumed that you were rather free about showing your powers."

"No," Clark said, shaking his head as he tended the pots on the stove. "It's the opposite, actually."

Lex thought about it as he watched Clark cooking. He'd seen Clark fly, use incredible strength, apparently hold things together that should have been torn apart, heat vision, super hearing. It was in amazing array of abilities that would challenge an adult to cope with. He looked back over at the pictures on the wall, to the one that Lex had marked in his mind as Clark's arrival. He frowned at the stunned expressions of Clark's parents before turning back to his host. A child with powers like that wouldn't have been allowed to socialize. There were too many opportunities for the truth to slip out, either in a burst of showing off or during a slip of the tongue.

"I suppose you must not have had many friends growing up," Lex said, fighting to keep his lips from going thin from the thought of it.

"Not really," Clark said. His shrug was truly casual this time. "We kept to ourselves for the most part. Most people here do that actually. I was home schooled until I was older, which helped. Apparently I didn't speak English when I arrived so they needed the extra time to teach me how to act…"

He trailed off, his entire body going stiff. Lex winced for Clark. It wasn't only the powers then. He'd been hiding his true nature his entire life. He was alone among another race that wasn't his own. The thought made Lex shudder. His imagination failed him in visualizing out how hard that must have been for Clark. Lex didn't have enough experience with the common man's life to formulate a hypothesis. His experiences after he'd been altered by the meteor shower weren't enough to judge by. He seriously doubted that Clark dealt with billionaires and their children on a regular basis.

"Human," Lex said, filling the silence that Clark had left. "I wouldn't have known that you were anything but a normal human if I hadn't seen your ship myself."

"Thanks," Clark breathed.

He relaxed, pulling a strand of spaghetti out of the pot to taste test. He nodded and drained the water off, making two plates heaped with spaghetti for the two of them. They worked together to set the table, adding more candles to make it easier to see each other and their food. Clark brought a loaf of bread to the table and some butter, glaring at two slices. They browned and were quickly toasted to perfection. Lex grinned, buttering his slice.

"That is perhaps the coolest thing ever," Lex said, waving his butter knife at Clark. "Or maybe the flying. Or maybe it was holding things together in the middle of a tornado. Hmm. I think all of it is the coolest thing ever."

Clark laughed, ducking his head to grin up at Lex with an adorably boyish expression. He was gorgeous, his tousled hair and sparkling green eyes backed up by a perfect grin. Lex's heart skipped several beats that he covered by taking a bite of the spaghetti. He raised an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised at the taste.

"Not as bad as I expected," Lex said, nodding approval. "Quite good actually. I was expecting a bit less from canned spaghetti sauce and dry noodles."

"Used to gourmet?" Clark asked, his grin turning into snickers as he all but inhaled his plate of spaghetti.

"Of course," Lex said, his lips twitching as he put on his best snobbish billionaire manners. "A Luthor expects nothing less. Though this is quite good. I'm surprised. My compliments to the chef."

Clark laughed in the middle of chewing a bite, snatching his napkin so that he didn't spew spaghetti over the table. Lex grinned. Clark nodded, swallowing the bite and then shook his head at Lex.

"It's my mom's homemade sauce," Clark said, laughing as he set the napkin down. "I've still got a lot of personal stuff to pack up here before the tenants move in but I've got a couple of days. Plenty of time. I'm glad that there was some of her cooking left. I think she'd like you."

"Really?" Lex said, his heart skipping another beat.

It had been a very long time since anyone thought that their parents would like him. Between Lex's youthful indiscretions and his father's behavior, no one had wanted to be around Lex for anything but business for a very long time. Clark nodded calmly, thankfully not seeming to see Lex's flustered emotions.

"Yeah," Clark said, nodding as he finished off his plate and eyed Lex's. "She's from Metropolis. Her name was Martha Clark before she got married. My grandfather was really disappointed in her for marrying Dad. He thought a simple farmer was below her, but she was really happy here with Dad. It just hasn't been the same since he died."

"I'm sorry," Lex said, finishing as much of his spaghetti as he could eat. He passed the plate to Clark who lit up like the sun as he took Lex's leftovers. "I lost my mother when I was younger. I still miss her. I'm sure you miss your father badly."

"I do," Clark said, playing with his food. He sighed and started eating, shrugging one shoulder. "Heart attack. His heart had been weak for a couple of years and it just gave out one day. There was nothing I could do."

Knowing what Lex knew about Clark's abilities, he could hear the pain behind that admission. To have so much power and still be unable to help someone that close to you must have been horrible. Lex nodded, finishing off his toast and drinking the last of his water. Neither of them said anything as Clark finished eating. They washed up the dishes in companionable silence, Clark washing in water he heated with his powers and Lex drying. Once the dishes, pots and silverware had been put away, Lex turned to Clark.

"You don't by any chance have an old fashioned analog phone do you?" Lex asked. "The mobile phone doesn't work without power."

"Um." Clark hesitated, blinking as he looked at Lex with surprise. He looked around the kitchen, then at an empty jack on the wall by the kitchen door. "Um, I'm not sure. I thought Mom took the mobile phone to Washington with her."

He checked the wall and the cabinets, looking in most of the same places that Lex had. Clark added looking in the cabinet under the phone, which Lex hadn't considered, but in the end he came up empty handed too. Lex sighed, accepting that there wasn't a working phone in the place.

"Cell phone?" Lex asked.

"No, I had one but it kind of got…broken," Clark said, blushing brightly.

"Sat on it?" Lex asked, grinning at Clark's dismay. "Dunked it in water?"

"No, actually, I got kind of angry when my last um, boyfriend dumped me and I threw it through a wall," Clark said, looking at least ten times as nervous as he had when Lex found the spaceship.

"I would love to be able to throw something through a wall," Lex said, thinking of his ex-wives and his father's antics. "That would make me feel so much better sometimes."

Clark burst out laughing, the tension disappearing as Lex didn't comment on his sexuality. Lex didn't feel prepared to make any comment. Clark was not only entirely too gorgeous to be of this Earth (literally), he was also available. He was insanely grateful for the oversized pants and shirt as his body reacted yet again. Clark leaned on the opposite side of the kitchen counter, looking at Lex.

"You have a lot of reasons to throw things through walls?" Clark asked, head cocked in a boyish way that was also so innocently seductive that it took an effort of will not to take him up on the unspoken invitation right then.

"Three ex-wives, a crazy brother, an obnoxious father, a business that frequently runs me ragged, too many one-night stands, a male lover who sued for paternity of his child, yes, lots of reasons," Lex said, adding the gold-digging Adam as a tactic admission of his own attraction to Clark.

"That is a lot of reasons," Clark said, his eyes going wide.

They hovered on the edge of saying something more meaningful. Lex was reluctant to risk yet another failed romance when he'd had so many failures before. Clark appeared to be equally reluctant to say anything, though the way he licked his lips made him look as though he was being severely tempted. It wasn't an expression that Lex was accustomed to seeing directed at himself. Most of his past lovers had wanted him for his money and power, not for his looks or personality. More than a few had thrown parting shots about his money being the only thing that was attractive about him. Clark opened his mouth so make some comment.

A flash of lightning lit up the farmhouse and rain suddenly started pouring down outside. Clark gasped, straightening up as he stared at the front windows that had been blown out by the tornado. Lex turned with him, growling at the rain.

"We need to board those up," Clark and Lex said in unison.

"If you can get the boards and supplies, I'll help," Lex said. "I don't know where anything is."

"Thanks," Clark said, beaming. "Give me a second and I'll meet you on the front porch. I can get the upstairs ones easier by myself."

There was a whoosh of air and Clark was gone. Lex barely had the time to register that the back door had opened and shut before he heard hammering upstairs. Lex grinned, adding super speed to his mental register of gifts. This truly was the coolest thing ever, well worth a near-death incident. He headed out onto the front porch, shivering as the wind drove rain straight through his borrowed shirt. He might want a warm shower after this. The night had turned quite cold.

**6\. Parents**

Clark hovered and boarded up the broken window on Mom and Dad's old bedroom. He was trying to decide if he was annoyed at the sudden change in the weather or grateful for it. He knew that he'd only just met Lex. He knew that there was no reason at all for him to trust Lex, especially since he'd revealed that he was Lex _Luthor_. Clark had listened to far too many of his father's rants about the Luthors to be able to set that aside easily, but Lex was gorgeous and nice and he hadn't freaked out at Clark's differences. He thought Clark was cool, which had never in his entire life happened before. Clark sighed, hearing Dad's voice in his head, lecturing him about not being careful, about the responsibility his powers entailed, about the _Luthors_ and the way they were destroying the world with their lack of values.

_"I know that you'll find someone someday, Clark,"_ Mom's voice said in the back of his mind, stilling Dad's rants.

She'd said it at least a million times when he was in high school, comforting him during his on-and-off relationship with Lana, his brief bout of dating Chloe, his troubles with Whitney that turned into an affair they'd kept as secret as possible in a small town. She'd told him so many times that when he found the right person he'd know. She'd known when she met Dad. He'd always wanted to believe her when she said that he'd know. He'd wanted to believe, but he never could. He wasn't human so how could he find someone that would accept him for what he was? The only people that Clark had thought could truly accept him fully would be his own race, and his race appeared to be dead. Clark had long since resigned himself to living out his life alone. He wasn't going to let himself believe that Lex was that long-awaited one. He would be glad for a friend. He shouldn't expect more than that.

Clark sighed and finished boarding up the upper windows. Tomorrow he'd have to run into town and buy new windows. They certainly couldn't rent the place out with this sort of damage. It would hurt their budget but not too badly given Mom's new job. He flew back down to the ground, gathering more boards, more nails and a hammer for Lex to use before speeding back to Lex on the front porch. Lex had just stepped outside and he shivered at the rain. Clark hadn't noticed the temperature dropping until he saw Lex shivering. It was getting pretty cold.

"Do you need a coat?" Clark asked, setting down the supplies. "I should have one here that you can borrow."

"If we hurry I won't need it," Lex said, his teeth chattering just enough for Clark to know he was freezing despite waving off Clark's concerns. "Besides, I don't want to take your coat away from you. You need it too."

Clark sped inside and got his old red coat from his closet, bringing it back out to Lex. He held it out insistently. Lex frowned and took it, pulling it on as if it was under protest. It probably was. The rain started coming down harder, with a slightly stronger wind. It wasn't to a torrential downpour yet, but Clark was rapidly getting soaked. Lex looked grateful for the warmth of the jacket once he had it on, though it was hard to be sure given how dark the night had become and the lack of anything other than candle light from inside to see by.

"I'm pretty much invulnerable," Clark said, picking up one of the boards. "I didn't realize that it had gotten so cold out here."

"Really?" Lex asked, taking the hammer, some nails and a second board. He went to the other broken window and started hammering the board into place.

"Yeah," Clark said, using his thumb to push his nails into place. "I think it kind of goes with the super strength. Otherwise I'd hurt myself every time I tried to do anything. Better you wear the coat than me. I don't need it."

"I need to make a list," Lex said, pausing with his hammer raised to put the next nail in.

"Huh?" Clark blinked at him, confused.

"Of all the incredible things you can do," Lex said, his grin visible despite the darkness.

Clark laughed, ducking his head to hide the blush that Lex couldn't see in the dark. They worked quickly—or quickly for Lex and human speed for Clark—to board up the windows. It wasn't perfect but it sufficed for tonight. Clark would make it right tomorrow. Once they were done, Lex hurried inside while Clark took the hammer and remaining nails back to the barn and put them away. By the time he ran back into the house he was soaked to the skin. Lex was waiting at the kitchen door with a dry towel for him to use. Clark smiled, taking it gladly.

"Do you think we need to put towels under the windows?" Lex asked, looking over at the boards. "Water might get in."

"Upstairs, yeah," Clark said thoughtfully as he dried his hair. "I don't think it's necessary down here since the porch covers the windows fairly well. Only a little bit of water should get in now. Upstairs does need it."

Clark toed off his wet shoes and headed upstairs, putting a couple of old towels at the bottom of the window in Mom and Dad's room. When he turned around Lex was hovering by the door, having stayed outside rather than joining Clark. Clark frowned, cocking his head.

"Sorry," Lex said, shrugging ever so slightly, "I felt like it was an intrusion. Your father just died."

"Oh," Clark said, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I can see that I guess. Dad wasn't…fond…of your father, so um, yeah, that's okay. It's probably better, actually."

Lex raised an eyebrow and then nodded his head as if completely unsurprised that someone he'd never met hated him. Clark was surprised by how much that bothered him. He knew that rich people's lives were supposed to be different but the thought of Lex being hated just for how rich he was or how rich his father was bugged him. Lex was smirking ironically as he headed back down the stairs to the living room and its slowly burning candles.

"I can't say that discovering another person who loathes Father is a surprise," Lex said, his voice dry. "It's all but a daily occurrence."

"I'm sorry," Clark said, following Lex downstairs.

"Why?" Lex asked, pausing at the bottom step to look up at Clark, confusion and what Clark was beginning to think was perpetual curiosity in his eyes. "You had nothing to do with it. My father's quite talented at making enemies without anyone's assistance."

"Because you get painted with the same brush," Clark said. "That's unfair."

"Life is rarely fair, Clark," Lex said with a shrug that was too tense to actually shrug off the concern. "It is what it is. You just have to deal with it and move on."

He went into the living room, settling on the couch with a tired sigh. Clark followed him, gathering the candles from the kitchen table to add to the one Lex had been carrying. Lex didn't appear to be ready to sleep and Clark slept so little anymore that he wasn't ready for bed anytime in the next few hours. Clark sat next to Lex, studying him.

"What was he like?" Lex asked after a long moment of silence spent listening to the wind and rain outside.

"Dad?" Clark asked, sighing at Lex's nod. "Strong. Very moral. Loving. He always had advice for me, no matter how weird my problems were. He was always willing to help other people when they needed it. He was fiercely independent. He refused to take any government help even when they needed it desperately. He was really opinionated, especially about your father."

"A great many people are opinionated about my father," Lex said. "I tend to think that they're quite right about him."

He looked both fascinated and regretful that he hadn't had the opportunity to meet Dad. Clark frowned that Lex didn't seem to like his own father. It was alien to what he knew of family, to most of what he'd seen in his life, in Smallville. Clark couldn't help but wonder what Lex's father was like, how he'd raised Lex, especially given the wistful expression flitting around his face.

"So can I ask what your father's like?" Clark asked, biting his lip nervously.

"Yes, you _may_ ask," Lex said, his lips twitching with amusement.

Clark groaned, rolling his eyes. Lex grinned openly at him, not looking the least bit repentant for turning their conversation into a grammar lesson. Clark wondered if it was an attempt to deflect his question, to keep from asking it, but the way Lex looked at him, watching silently, made Clark think that he was reluctant to talk about it but willing to since it was Clark. That made his heart beat a little faster and his groin react. Clark leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees to try and hide the way his pants were getting too tight.

"Fine, sorry, I'll watch my grammar," Clark said in his driest tone of voice, making Lex laugh. "So what is he like?"

"He's…harsh," Lex said, looking away into the darkness on the other side of the room. "Judgmental. Amoral. He's filled with advice as well, but it's all about how to control people and get what you want from them, without any regard for what's good for the other person or society. I suspect that he's committed some very serious crimes but I can't prove it. Yet. I think that he might be the exact opposite of your father. Pity that your father's departed the world while mine is still in it."

"Oh," Clark breathed, the hurt in his heart for Lex going down to his stomach. "That sounds a lot like the way Dad talked about him."

"Hmm," Lex said, surprised. "I wonder if they met after the meteor shower. We were here during the meteor shower, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did."

Clark's eyes flew straight to Lex's baldness. He'd sort of assumed that Lex's lack of hair was a personal grooming choice or that he'd recently had a severe illness, but maybe it was more than that. Clark shivered, pulling back a little and sitting further into the couch. He wanted to ask but asking would mean knowing that he'd destroyed Lex's life when he arrived here. He didn't want to know that. He didn't want the guilt for Lex's life added to the mountain of guilt he carried around every day.

**7\. Darkness**

Lex caught Clark's look at his head, sighing inwardly. He supposed that it was inevitable that it came up. His baldness usually came up far sooner in conversations. Clark had admirable restraint in that regard. Lex was used to people bringing it up the instant they laid eyes on him, either with solicitous questions about mythical cancer treatments or confused frowns. Lex waited, at first impatiently and then curiously as he realized that Clark's expression was one riddled with guilt, not curiosity.

"You can ask," Lex finally said once the silence had stretched beyond the breaking point.

"I don't want to," Clark said, staring at his feet instead of Lex's face.

"Why?" Lex asked, blinking at him in puzzlement.

The silence stretched for another too-long interval, filled with rain battering against the roof and remaining windows. There was a flash of lightning from some distance away. Lex had the time to count to seconds while waiting for Clark to answer his question. Six seconds for the thunder and another nine before Clark spoke.

"Meteor shower?" Clark whispered, his hands clenched so tightly between his knees that Lex thought they must ache.

"Yes," Lex said, sitting up straighter on the old couch.

"I'm sorry," Clark said, giving Lex yet another apology for something that wasn't his fault.

"Did you cause the meteor shower that day?" Lex asked, smiling at Clark's insistence on apologizing for things that weren't under his control. It was charming but he was taking entirely too much guilt upon himself.

"Yes."

Lex had already drawn a breath to tell Clark then he shouldn't feel bad when the whispered answer drove the air right out of his lungs. He stared at Clark. Clark's head had fallen so far that his eyes couldn't be seen. Lex's brain seemed to be stuck in place as it stuttered over Clark's admission that he had caused the meteor shower, until the increasing tension in Clark's shoulders kicked it back into gear.

The meteor shower. A tiny spaceship. What better way to hide a spaceship coming to earth, and keep its young occupant from being immediately discovered, than to hide it in the midst of a meteor shower? One child without parents in the middle of that chaos would have been unremarkable. The amazing thing was that Clark had found such a good family to grow up with. It would have been far different if Lionel, or other less moral parents, had found him.

"Your spaceship," Lex breathed, Clark's flinch confirming his hypothesis.

Lex reached out and put his hand on Clark's shoulder, grateful for the heat the Clark seemed to radiate. His fingers were colder than he'd realized, chilled from the rain and the lack of heat in the farmhouse. Clark started, going stiff for a long moment until he turned to look at Lex with the same fear from the storm cellar in his eyes. Lex found it hard to deal with how much fear Clark carried. A being with that sort of power and the innate goodness that Lex had already seen shouldn't be so afraid.

"I'm sorry," Clark repeated, his eyes flicking to Lex's lack of hair. "That is my fault. The meteors came with me. Sorry."

"Did you send the ship?" Lex asked, keeping his hand on Clark's shoulder and using his most gentle tone of voice. "Did you choose to send the meteors along as cover?"

"Um, no," Clark said, the tone of voice turning it into a question.

"You were just the occupant, right?"

"Yeah," Clark said, sitting up a little taller.

"Then it's not your fault," Lex said, smiling as Clark's smile returned, at a much lower wattage than what Lex had come to see as normal, but it was an improvement. "Why were you sent here? That's doesn't make sense to me. Why send a child away from his home world?"

Clark sighed, looking both relieved and incredibly sad. He put his hand over Lex's squeezing it gently. He squeezed Clark's shoulder and then let go once Clark moved his hand. Clark flopped back against the couch, looking at the ceiling.

"I was sent here because my home world was being destroyed in a war," Clark said, not looking at Lex. He seemed to see different worlds in the darkness over their heads. "From what I understand of it, which isn't much, my father was the leading scientist on my home world. He and my mother struggled to have children. I was born late in their marriage, after the war had started going badly for them. General Zod was destroying the whole planet. I don't know how he did it, but somehow Zod made the world blow up. Just before the end, my parents put me into my spaceship and sent me to Earth. He'd been here when he was younger and they decided that I'd be able to have a good life here. Apparently, the planet blew up just after they launched my ship and that's where the meteors came from."

"Hmm, I wonder how that happened," Lex said, pondering it. He couldn't picture an entire planet being destroyed. "How do you know this much if your world was destroyed? There wouldn't be anyone to teach you, unless they sent a message with you."

"The spaceship," Clark said, making a face. "It's got a download of my father's personality but it's…a little bit…nuts, I guess. Reminds me of your descriptions of your father."

"That's not good," Lex said, startled. "I think I hate the thought of a second Lionel, even if he is a computer program."

Clark spluttered and started laughing, finally looking at Lex again. He was still entirely too tense, but the dreadful guilt he seemed to carry appeared to be fading. Lex could understand feeling guilty for things that you'd caused, but Clark seemed to take it to extremes. He felt guilty for things that had no relation to him. Lex wondered if it was a product of his upbringing or a natural characteristic of his race, whatever that was. It didn't truly matter, but he couldn't help but be curious about it. The better he understood the more likely it was that he'd be able to help fix it. Clark's over-developed sense of guilt struck Lex as something desperately in need of fixing.

"It is a scary thought, isn't it?" Clark said, grinning. "He's…I don't even know how to describe him. Egotistical. A megalomaniac. So prejudiced in favor of our race that he views all other races as nothing but animals. That bugs me to no end. He's convinced that the only way the world will survive is if I rule it."

Clark made a face, shuddering. He got up, pacing on the other side of the coffee table as if he couldn't talk about this without moving. Lex's shoulders had gone rock hard as soon as Clark said that his father wanted him to rule the world. On one hand, he couldn't imagine a less likely 'Ruler of the World' than Clark. He was entirely too open and kind for that, not to mention all the secrets and guilt he carried. But on the other hand, Clark's powers and invulnerability made it quite believable that he could actually do it. There would be practically nothing that anyone could do to stop him should he make that choice.

"The part that I really hate," Clark continued without looking at Lex, "is that I know that the download isn't anything like my real father. He came here when he was a little older than I am now and he left behind a medallion that recorded his experiences. I found it and he was a totally different person. Sure, sure, I know, a war would have changed him, toughened him, but he fell in love with a human, Lex! He wouldn't look at humans as animals. And why the heck would he have sent his only child to live among animals? He wouldn't have. He would have chosen people that he knew could raise his son to be a good person. The only thing that makes sense is that the download was infected by some sort of virus when it was put into my spaceship or that there's a bug of some sort. The Jor-El in my spaceship isn't the same person as the man Jor-El who fathered me and saved me."

"Are you sure?" Lex asked, sensing that this was an argument that Clark had had with other people at other times. The pattern of his explanation made it fairly obvious. "Perhaps it's something that develops as your people age."

**8\. Suspicion**

Clark stopped pacing mid-step, turning to stare at Lex. That wasn't a tone of voice he'd expected or something he'd thought Lex would say. Sure, he'd thought about it many times, worrying that there was some sort of developmental stage that he hadn't gone through yet. He fretted about it at night, that his mind might get more and more distant, less human over time. Pete had all but flung it in his face when he'd found out, implying that all the secrets that Clark had kept from him said that he was just a lying alien freak, but Pete had been hurting at the time. Lex wasn't.

"Um," Clark said, hesitating as he studied Lex, "are you all right?"

The candlelight that had made him seem so beautiful suddenly seemed to transform his face into a mask that revealed exactly nothing. It was dim enough in the living room that Clark couldn't see Lex's eyes. They were hidden in wells of shadow. All Clark could see was the total lack of expression on his face. Lex hadn't moved a muscle but what had been a casual, calm lounge had somehow changed. Lex didn't look like he was lounging now. He looked like he was getting ready for an attack, as if every twitch of Clark's face or body was being watched for signs of threat.

"I'm fine, why?" Lex asked, his voice almost perfectly calm and smooth, except that Clark's hearing could pick up a tremor that hadn't been there before, not even when they'd been in the middle of the storm.

"You don't look fine," Clark said, his heart sinking. "You look like you think I'm going to attack you or something."

Lex started, the candlelight reflecting off his eyes for a second, transforming them from featureless empty wells of darkness to something living again. It was there and gone again in a flash. Clark didn't dare step closer and try to reassure Lex, not with him looking at him that way.

"Would you?" Lex asked, the tiny tremor in his voice stronger now.

"No!" Clark said, horrified that Lex would doubt him so easily. Maybe he'd been wrong to trust Lex so easily. "Lex, I'm not the one who thinks I should rule the world. I've told him no so many times, in so many ways, that he had to kidnap me and brainwash me to get anywhere close to it. Mom barely saved me from that. If I were going to take over the world I would have done it when I was sixteen, when I became Kal-El. I've been running away from my birth father's 'destiny' ever since I found out about it at fourteen!"

"He did what?" Lex asked, leaning forward.

He put his elbows on his knees, bringing his face more fully into the light. Clark could see the suspicion in Lex's expression but it was battling with curiosity. Clark bit his lip, swallowing so hard that it hurt. Somehow curiosity mixed with suspicion was far more difficult to deal with than curiosity alone. Not that he was any good at dealing with curiosity either. Clark backed a couple of steps away from Lex's curiosity, trying to catch his breath as he battled against the old fears that he had thought that he'd conquered. Lex frowned, the curiosity becoming concern.

"H-he brainwashed me," Clark said, grateful for the darkness now that it hid his expression and the light revealed Lex's. "I'm still not sure how he did it. I don't remember much of what happened. I only have vague impressions. It was like, I don't know how, like someone else was wearing my skin, pretending to be me while I was still inside, trying to get out."

"You're terrified," Lex said, staying still on the couch. The dreadful sense of waiting for an attack was gone but he was still incredibly watchful. "Why are you so afraid?"

"I—"

Clark's throat sealed up and he had to go back to pacing. Movement always helped him deal with his fears. Doing things helped. Talking never helped. It just made him more nervous and uncomfortable. It took a little bit before he got control of his emotions again. Lex waited patiently, his frown conveying concern, not threat.

"I'm kind of phobic of people finding out about me," Clark said finally. "I used to be really bad. If you'd met me when I was fourteen or fifteen I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything. I worked really hard on learning to control my fears instead of letting them control me, but it's an on-going effort."

"What are you afraid of?" Lex asked, rearing back a little as if shocked that Clark had anything to be afraid of. "Aren't you invulnerable? Nothing can hurt you."

"Almost nothing can hurt me," Clark said, calming enough that he could stop pacing. He turned to face Lex again. "The meteor rocks do hurt me. Well, some varieties hurt me. Some are like drugs. The black nearly split me in half. That was how Mom saved me. Magic can hurt me too, though that's really rare. I've only encountered real magic once. And just because my body's mostly invulnerable doesn't mean that I can't be hurt emotionally. Mom's human, Lex. My friends are all normal humans, or relatively normal. It would be so easy for them to be used against me. I meant it when I said I never showed off. I don't. The only reason I let you see what I can do is because you would have died if I hadn't and I was so afraid of what the spaceship would do to you. Its nuts and I don't want that thing hurting anyone else."

"To protect me," Lex breathed, his eyes widening with comprehension.

"Yeah," Clark said, shrugging. He took a half step forward so that Lex could see his face again. It wasn't fair to hide in the shadows, not when Lex's expression was perfectly clear to Clark. "It's not safe for people to know about me. I've already found that out. Too many people have been hurt. Too many people have died. I don't want that to happen to anyone else."

Lex sighed and leaned back against the couch, his eyes disappearing into the darkness again, though his face was still partially visible. He rubbed a hand over his scalp, looking away into the darkness in the kitchen. The rain was still falling outside. Thunder rumbled over them, sounding like it was from a long ways away. Clark waited, giving Lex however much time he needed. He wasn't going to push him. This was a lot to take in and Lex had nearly died today. Clark wouldn't be surprised if he needed a lot of time to take it in.

"What do you expect of me?" Lex asked after the silence had become almost a companionable thing.

"Expect?" Clark asked, surprised. "Nothing. Lex, I don't expect anything at all out of you. You can walk away tomorrow and never see me again if you want. It'd be nice to have another friend, someone I could go to when I need to talk, but you don't have to do anything. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what you know, but I can't make you do anything. And I don't think its right to expect anything out of you. You didn't ask for this. We met by accident. It can be just something that happened during the storm that you don't talk about if you want. You can forget it. I won't mind."

"You expect me to be able to forget all of this?" Lex said, laughing incredulously and waving a hand at Clark, the window, the whole world by extension. "Trust me when I say this, Clark. There is nothing forgettable about what I've seen today. I dare say that it's the _least_ forgettable thing that's ever happened to me."

Clark laughed, ducking his head for a second and then grinning at Lex. He shrugged, scuffing one toe against the floor. When Lex put it that way he could see Lex's point. There really wasn't much chance of Lex forgetting any of what he'd seen. Lex chuckled, shifting position on the couch as if he was mildly uncomfortable.

"Well, you know what I mean," Clark said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I won't hold it against you if you decide to run away screaming. You wouldn't be the first. Being my friend is kind of dangerous."

"I'm not afraid," Lex said, his eyes glinting in the darkness. "I'm not afraid of you or your powers or your power-crazy father. I have one of my own. Actually, I could probably give you some good advice about how to deal with him. Someone should benefit from my experiences with Lionel. There's one thing that bothers me though."

"What?" Clark asked, cocking his head at Lex.

"How did you connect my baldness with the meteor showers so easily?" Lex asked. "Most people never make the connection."

Clark shivered, the urge to move surging up again. He'd thought that Lex knew about the mutants. It didn't seem likely that Lex only had baldness as his change. Every single mutant that Clark had met had more than just a physical change. Clark bit his lip, looking at the sheen of the candlelight on Lex's scalp.

"Um, you're not the only one the meteors changed," Clark said, his stomach full of butterflies the size of elephants. "There are a lot of people who were changed. And most of them got powers. Did you change more than just the baldness after the meteor shower?"

**9\. Fragile**

Lex felt like Clark had hit him physically with the question. Clark looked as nervous as Lex felt, fidgeting and shuffling his feet as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. Lex stayed silent for a long moment, letting his heart rate drop from the spike that had happened when Clark guessed about his ability to heal. Or perhaps it wasn't a guess Lex realized as Clark bit his lip.

"You know other people who were changed," Lex said.

"Yes," Clark agreed. "Quite a few. Alicia was one. She could teleport. She's dead, killed by a different mutant who could turn to sand. The meteors are so dangerous. It's…I know that if you lost your hair in the meteor shower you probably got something else too. It seems like whatever the person was wishing for most when they were exposed is what they got."

"I wanted to be healthy," Lex said, his voice so quiet that it was barely audible over the rain outside, "and I hated my red hair. That was it. I wanted to live and be healthy and never have to deal with my hair again. I hated it."

"So you heal fast?" Clark asked, cocking his head to the side. He finally seemed to be calming down.

Lex nodded, letting out a breath slowly. Of course his father knew about his ability to heal from practically anything, but no one else in Lex's life knew other than his doctor Toby. Even Toby didn't know the full extent of it. He'd never been called in soon enough to see just how much Lex could survive. Lex suddenly felt a huge amount of sympathy for Clark's fear of telling people about his abilities, and his relief in being able to be open with Lex. Having a secret like that wasn't easy, no matter what it was.

"So other people have different powers," Lex said.

"Yeah," Clark said, nodding. "Most of them seem okay but there's, well, kind of a thing where meteor mutants can get obsessive and go crazy. I know at least one who hasn't gone crazy. She heals people; I mean even if they're dead she can bring them back. It's incredible. I don't know why but she seems stable."

"Probably the healing," Lex said, nodding slowly as though he wasn't reeling from this new revelation. Lovely, he could go crazy. Just what he'd always wanted to discover about himself.

"If that's true than you should be fine," Clark said. "You heal too, right?"

"Only myself," Lex said, smiling ruefully. "I can't heal anyone else."

"You're the only one you need to heal to stay sane," Clark said, grinning at him.

Lex blinked and then laughed. The last of the tension seemed to drain out of Clark. He came back and flopped on the other half of the sofa, sighing. Lex smiled, glad to be able to see his face again. It had been a little frightening when Clark had disappeared into the darkness surrounding them. Clark rolled his head and smiled at Lex, a tiny smile that had happiness, sorrow, loss, fear, and an amazing amount of hope rolled up in it. Lex smiled back, wondering what his smile was communicating to Clark. It felt very different from his normal smiles, not that Lex's smiles normally meant a fraction of what this one did.

"So are you gay, bi, straight, or something that doesn't map onto human norms?" Lex asked, just to see what Clark would do. "Do you even look 'normal' down there?"

Clark spluttered, sitting bolt upright and going beet red. Even in the light of the slowly dying candles Lex could see the blush. He laughed, grinning at Clark and waving a hand that he didn't have to answer that question. Clark huffed, glaring at Lex as he thumped back against the couch again, his arms crossed on his chest.

"That was so not a fair question," Clark said, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout that was as adorable as his grin through the eyelashes thing.

"Couldn't resist," Lex said, still grinning at him. "How about this question: which is better, football or hockey?"

"Football, of course," Clark said as though it was obvious.

"Hockey's far more exciting," Lex said, putting an arm on the back of the couch so that he could turn and watch Clark's reactions more easily.

"No way, football's better," Clark repeated. "Best game ever. Country music or soul?"

"Ugh, I'll take classical over either," Lex said, making a face. "Or jazz."

Clark turned his head just enough that his temple rested beside Lex's fingertips. The hope was back in his eyes, joined by nervousness as he bit his lip and shyness in the way he ever so slightly shifted his head so that his hair brushed against Lex's fingers, making a tiny, easy to ignore offer to touch. Lex's heart beat faster, this time from a surprising level of hope in his heart. He'd never had a lover or even a one-night stand that knew so much about him. He'd never had one that accepted him instead of only pretending to. He didn't move his fingers, though his rapidly filling erection screamed at him to do it.

"We only just met," Lex breathed, swallowing against a mouth that had gone far too dry.

"I know," Clark whispered. "It could still be just one night. I haven't, I haven't had anyone that I could fully trust, Lex. I do trust you. Maybe I shouldn't but I do. Can we…forget who we are for one night, just be together in the storm?"

"I don't want forget who you are," Lex said, his voice coming out husky and strange. His fingers moved into Clark's hair of their own accord. "I don't want to forget who I am. I don't want to forget what happened. I want to remember it. I'm alive. I'm alive because of you, Clark Kent. If you won't let me give you a reward, at least let me say thank you."

One of the candles guttered and went out. The smell of wax intensified as a thin column of smoke drifted up from the candle. Lex could see Clark's pulse pounding at his throat. He licked his lips and then nodded as if he couldn't manage to get words out. Lex smiled and leaned closer, raising a hand to cup Clark's cheek. His jaw was broad under Lex's palm, with just a hint of stubble. Lex smiled, liking the feel of it.

Lex leaned forward and brushed his lips against Clark's, taking his time. Clark moaned, his arms slowly unfurling to caress Lex's chest and move around his sides. It was still like touching the sun. Lex leaned closer, kissing Clark and running the tip of his tongue over Clark's lips. Clark opened his mouth, letting Lex's tongue in. He tasted of spaghetti and a faint hint of buttered toast. His personal flavor underlay the leftover traces of dinner. Lex groaned as Clark's arms encircled him, pulling him in to deepen the kiss.

When they finally came up for air two more of the candles had burned out. There was only one left burning and it looked like it was going to die very soon. Clark's lips were kiss-swollen. The pupils of his eyes were so blown that even nose to nose Lex couldn't see the green of his irises. Lex smiled, resting his forehead against Clark's. He'd ended up sprawled on top of Clark so he could feel exactly how excited the kisses had made him.

"We should probably take this upstairs," Lex offered, silently praying that Clark would say yes.

"If you want to," Clark said, his hips bucking in what Lex thought was an involuntary gesture.

"I want to," Lex declared, hearing his father in the growl of his voice. He hated hearing his father when he spoke but the joy that spread over Clark's face allowed him to let it go.

Lex pulled away from Clark. He stood and then offered a hand to Clark. Clark took it, pausing to blow out the last candle and then stood. He leaned down and kissed Lex again, as if he couldn't stay away from him. Lex felt the same way. He wrapped his arms around Clark's neck at the same time that Clark wrapped his arms around Lex's waist. The world shifted slightly. It took Lex a second to realize that his feet weren't touching the ground. He pulled back from the kiss and stared at the floor. It was several feet between his toes and the ground. He turned back to Clark and laughed.

"Still the coolest thing ever," Lex murmured before blocking Clark's reply with another kiss.

**10\. Sunrise**

Sunlight crept into the bedroom, coming to dance on Clark's face. He smiled in his sleep; sighing and wrapping his arms around the warm body half draped over him. It took a couple seconds before the combination of light in his eyes and a body sleeping next to him to wake Clark up. He blinked, expecting to see his dorm room instead of his room on the farm. He looked down and grinned at Lex's head rested on his shoulder. Lex in bed with him was something so far beyond what he could have expected that it seemed like a miracle. Clark wasn't sure how a simple trip home to clean out the house and to do some laundry had landed him in bed with one of the most gorgeous men he'd ever seen, but he was really glad that it had. Lex mumbled something and frowned, pushing his face into Clark's shoulder. Clark felt the exact instant when Lex woke up. Lex's body went from languid and loose to stiff and wary almost instantaneously.

"You wake up fast," Clark said very quietly so that he didn't startle Lex any further. "I always wake up slow."

"Clark," Lex said, lifting his head and blinking at him as though he wasn't quite certain that Clark was real.

"Yup," Clark said, letting Lex go so that he could sit up if he chose. The morning after was always so fraught with tension. "Looks like the storms have blown over. I think we might have sunny weather today."

Lex nodded, looking out the window for a moment. He turned back to Clark, studying him silently. Clark wasn't sure what Lex saw but it seemed to relax him. The stiffness abated and Lex settled back down beside Clark, running his fingers over Clark's chest. Clark let out a breath that he hadn't consciously been holding, wrapping his arm around Lex's back again. Lex chuckled, relaxing in to the cuddle.

"Think they've got the power up again?" Lex asked after a few minutes of mutually not discussed snuggling.

"Mmm, yeah, I think so," Clark said, tuning his ears. "I can hear the power lines humming anyway."

"You can…" Lex started laughing, shaking his head in amazement.

He didn't get up. Instead he snuggled closer, still chuckling. Clark grinned, rubbing Lex's back. He listened to the wider world, trying to find out what was going on outside. Hopefully things were quiet and they could have a second round. Clark stiffened and groaned as he heard the sheriff driving up the lane.

"What?" Lex asked.

"I hear the sheriff driving up," Clark sighed, kissing Lex gently. "We better get up. Sheriff Adams is pretty tough. I don't like upsetting her."

"If we must," Lex sighed, getting up and pulling on his borrowed clothes. "Though I must admit that I am hungry."

"Not going to be able to get anything much to eat here," Clark said, grinning as he watched Lex dress. "I need do a little shopping to have anything to eat."

Clark got dressed and they headed downstairs just in time for Sheriff Adams to walk up the steps and knock on the door. Clark hurried over and opened the door, smiling at her. She frowned, looking like she was either surprised to see him or annoyed. Clark's smile faded. She'd always made him nervous, ever since she took over for the previous sheriff when he was in high school.

"Mr. Kent," Sheriff Adams said, studying him. "I didn't expect to find anyone here."

"I came home to clean out the house and do some laundry, ma'am," Clark said. "Unfortunately I kind of got caught by a gust of wind and my truck went into the ditch."

"How'd you end up here?" Sheriff Adams asked, suspicion flaring in her eyes.

"Oh, Lex rescued me," Clark said, hooking a thumb at Lex who was standing in the living room, listening to them silently. "I kind of lost my laundry in the process and I'm not sure my truck survived but Lex got us here. We made it to the cellar under the house and waited out the tornado. Then since the power was out and Lex's car was carried away by the storm, we were kind of stuck. I'm glad you showed up."

"Lex?" Sheriff Adams asked, peering into the living room. She caught her breath when she spotted Lex in his borrowed baggy jeans and too-large T-shirt. "Mr. Luthor! Your father's been trying to contact you since last night."

Lex sighed. He straightened up. Somehow with a simple change of posture and expression, Lex changed from someone casual and intensely curious into a powerful businessman who just happened to be wearing old jeans and a T-shirt. Clark swallowed, amazed at the difference that shift of position and expression had made. Lex didn't look like the same person to Clark; he looked like someone else entirely.

"I'm sure he has," Lex said, his voice deeper and more confident. "Unfortunately, I believe that my cell phone was in my glove compartment. Given that my car disappeared into the tornado and the phones were down, there was no way to contact anyone. And I certainly wasn't willing to walk in the rain during the middle of the night. Clark was kind enough to allow me to spend the night."

"Well, you did save my life," Clark said, shrugging. "It kind of seemed like the least that I could do."

Lex's lips quirked in a lightning-fast smile that Clark almost missed. His eyes were sparkling with amusement that Clark had turned the truth on its head. Clark grinned back at Lex, ducking his head and laughing quietly. Sheriff Adams didn't appear to understand their nonverbal teasing, which was a bit of a relief. She huffed, looking faintly annoyed. Lex picked up on it.

"I would appreciate a ride into town," Lex said to her. "And perhaps you can drive Clark back to his truck? I'm sure he'd rather that than have to walk back to it."

"Ah, of course," Sheriff Adams said, nodding.

"Thank you," Lex said, bowing his head almost regally. "Let me go gather up my clothes and we can go."

Clark followed Lex upstairs; his stomach was full of butterflies again. It felt like everything had changed now that the outside world had intruded. The storm that had shielded them was gone. They had to go back to their old lives. Clark sort of wondered if they'd be able to hang onto what they'd found last night or if it would wash away now that the rain was gone.

"Do you have some paper and a pen?" Lex asked once they were alone upstairs in Clark's bedroom.

"Um, no, I don't think so," Clark said, looking around his room. "I think it took it all to school with me or Mom took it to Washington with her."

"Damn, I wanted give you my number," Lex said, looking frustrated.

"You don't want it to end either," Clark breathed, plopping down on the end of his bed as his knees gave out.

Lex blinked and then laughed, climbing into Clark's lap to kiss him. It went from a gentle, reassuring kiss to one that was urgent, demanding and needy almost immediately. Clark could feel the seconds ticking by, so he let Lex go after just the one kiss. Lex sighed, nodding. He seemed to feel the time passing too. He stood, picking up his clothes again. As soon as he did, he pulled on the manners that made him seem so very different from the intensely curious person that Clark had gotten to know and care for over the night.

"_That_ is the coolest thing ever," Clark said, grinning at Lex. "Just a little shift of body language and you're someone else entirely."

"That is nothing special," Lex laughed, grinning back at Clark. "That's just proper posture and being appropriately impressive for my rank."

"Nope, not listening," Clark declared, standing back up. "Coolest thing ever."

They shared a laugh as they headed back downstairs. Sheriff Adams looked like she couldn't comprehend how someone like Lex could be laughing and joking with someone like Clark. Clark supposed that from the outside there really wasn't any reason for the two of them to be friends. An outside person looking in wouldn't see all the ways that their lives and personalities meshed with each other. As they loaded into her patrol car, Clark smiled over the roof at Lex. No one else might be able to see it but Clark saw it. Lex obviously saw it too. Come what may, Clark thought that the storm had changed things forever, probably for the better.

**11\. Epilogue: Years**

Lex sipped a brandy as he stared out the windows of his penthouse at the storm raging beyond the glass doors. It seemed odd for the world to be crying. Lex certainly wasn't. He should change out of the suit he wore to Lionel's funeral. Lionel's slow slide into liver disease and insanity had been a terrible drain on Lex and the company but it was over now. Lionel was dead and buried. Starting tomorrow, Lex would be able to dismantle the mess his father had created as he tried to extend his life. Lionel's life was over. Lex's life was finally beginning.

Lex finished his brandy and returned to the bar. He pondered a second drink for a long moment but decided against it. Better to change into something more comfortable and get something to eat. He had a full day of work tomorrow. It wouldn't do to have a hangover. Lex put the glass down and changed, tossing the suit into the hamper and the shoes into the closet. He listened to the thunder outside and smiled at the memories of another storm. Lex chose jeans and a comfortable gray sweater to wear as a silent tribute to Clark.

As Lex headed for his kitchen he heard someone knocking at his balcony doors. Lex laughed at the red cape and blue suit he saw in a flash of lightning. He headed back into the bathroom and got a towel. Lex opened the balcony door, giving the towel to Clark.

"Funny how we keep meeting during storms," Lex said, grinning at the laughter sparkling in Clark's hair as he dried his hair off. "You hungry?"

"Always," Clark said, draping the towel over his shoulders over his cape. He abandoned his more formal, impressive posture, going back to the boy that had saved Lex's life several years ago. "Want some company for a little while?"

"You're always welcome," Lex said, patting Clark's arm. "Let's see what we can whip up in my kitchen without starting a fire."

"Leave the cooking to me, Lex," Clark said, laughing. "I think we can do without any explosions today."

Lex grinned and accompanied Clark into the kitchen. So much had changed since their first meeting but the friendship—and something more—that they shared hadn't altered. Lex still wasn't sure where his life was going to go but one thing that he was certain of was that he had a friend who would stand by him through the best and the worst that life had to offer.


End file.
